


The New Titans

by Listentothelittlebird



Series: Code Bat [14]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Super Sons (Comics), Teen Titans (Comics)
Genre: Bruce Wayne is a Proud Parent, Damian is quietly cringing, Damian makes more friends, Gen, Jon is sort of a rebellious youngest child, Monitor Duty in the Watchtower, Not Canon Compliant, Timeline What Timeline, “Is that what I used to be like?”, “No wonder Drake despised me”, ”YOu’Re nOt tHe bOsS oF mE”
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-20
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:28:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27644129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Listentothelittlebird/pseuds/Listentothelittlebird
Summary: Bruce knew it was only a matter of time before his youngest son joined an official superhero team of his own.He was just glad to watch it unfold.(Featuring the Bats messing around during a superhero party, and Superman trying his best to parent)
Relationships: Bruce Wayne & Cassandra Cain, Clark Kent & Bruce Wayne, Jon Lane Kent & Damian Wayne, Tim Drake & Kon-El | Conner Kent
Series: Code Bat [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1964452
Comments: 30
Kudos: 576





	The New Titans

This is stupid, Bruce was thinking, even as he entered the Watchtower’s viewing deck.

Stupid, because it was not an average League meeting. No - Superman had the bright idea of having a mass meeting for all superhero teams. That is, inviting the younger superhero teams for a mass… gathering of sorts, though really it seemed to have turned into a party.

Why was he here?

“Stop brooding,” came a voice at his shoulder. He did not flinch per se, but Black Bat would have noticed how he had paused in surprise. She was smiling. “ _Just have fun,_ ” she signed with a grin, “ _When else will you get to mess with your teammates?_ ”

She made three sharp points in different directions, and Batman easily followed her finger towards each of his sons. Nightwing was with Flash and Donna, Red Hood was with his Outlaws, and Red Robin was with his Teen Titans.

“ _Have you been messing around?_ ” Batman signed, already having his suspicions. Sure enough, he watched as Nightwing flicked what looked like Flash’s energy bar across the room, Red Robin catching the flying object mid-stretch. He slipped the energy bar into Kid Flash’s suit.

Batman sighed heavily. Black Bat giggled. Red Hood caught his eye and made a hand sign that was meant for apologies, but was clearly sarcastic. His son was still wearing his helmet, but Batman could tell that he was grinning.

“Come,” Black Bat tugged at his glove, “Good food.”

Black Bat led Batman towards the kitchen, and it must have been an interesting sight, the petite girl dragging along a man well-known for his intimidating persona. She was the only one out of those present who could get away with this - the only one who was openly affiliated to him.

It was mostly because Cass had refused to choose a more discreet name. Bruce had tried to convince her, but his daughter was stubborn.

Wonder Woman was already rummaging through the pantry, and Batman really wanted to wipe the bright smile off her face as he was pulled in by Black Bat.

“You must be Black Bat. It’s my honour to meet such a valiant warrior,” Wonder Woman smiled approvingly, “I’ve heard some gossip that they thought you were a meta, what with how easily you manage to evade detection. Perhaps even more elusive than the Batman himself.”

“She is,” Batman grunted, and it was worth it to see Black Bat beam. What was not worth it was her proceeding to hug him, disregarding their kevlar armour, Wonder Woman observing the exchange with a soft smile.

“She loves you very dearly,” Wonder Woman commented, when Black Bat had wandered off, “Though, I find it weird that only she of all your children has joined the fight formally with you.”

Batman grunted. Wonder Woman continued speaking while they walked back towards the main area of the gathering, “How is Richard doing? His departure was as abrupt as his arrival. He was truly only Batman for as long as he needed to be.”

Dick was very happy to return to being Nightwing, of course. He was less happy to leave Damian to his own devices - it took him a month before he had moved back to Blüdhaven properly.

“I let my children choose what they want,” Batman rumbled, even as he eyed Red Hood plucking an arrow from Roy’s quiver. Wonder Woman meandered off towards Superman, while the arrow steadily made its way from Red Robin to Nightwing.

Nightwing briefly caught his eye with a cheeky grin.

Batman, sighing internally and wondering why he played along with his children, easily snagged the arrow as he passed by, hiding it underneath his cape. He slipped it into Green Arrow’s quiver as he brushed past.

From different corners of the room, the three birds fist-bumped the air in the direction of their siblings, without looking to make eye contact. He could see Black Bat doing the same as well.

He wondered if Damian would participate, if - no, when - he joined a team.

~

He was with Superman on monitor duty when it happened.

“Oh no,” Superman mumbled, squinting at a screen in New York, “Seriously?”

On the monitor was a battle, with what looked like a few robots. There was a small figure sporting Superman colours, smashing through the frames of the robots despite his small stature.

Batman watched on in mild curiosity as Superman dialed his civilian phone.

“Kon,” Superman greeted, not bothering to hide names from his teammate, “Could you go get Jon from New York? Yeah, he ditched Ma again. Yeah. Thanks.”

He hung up with a sigh. “Jon has been getting a hang of his powers,” Superman explained tiredly, even though Batman had never asked, “He’s… getting complacent. I really need to do something about that.”

There was a flash of white on screen, mixed with light shades of colour. A blade drove into the metal plating of a robot, soon yanked out by its white handle.

Superman mumbled his surprise while Batman realised belatedly that his youngest son had been on a joyride with Goliath for the better part of the day. Damian had insisted that Goliath missed him, and not the other way around.

Kon-El soon arrived on scene, accompanied by, to Batman’s amusement, Tim. The fight was over quickly, but the screen only showed Red Robin and Superboy clearing the debris from the streets. The younger siblings were nowhere in sight.

Superman spammed through the cameras until Batman sighed, took over, and found them in three clicks.

Superman turned on the audio, even though Batman knew he could hear it himself, if he concentrated hard enough.

“-Canvas,” Damian was speaking through his voice modulator, “I’m a traveler, if you will.”

“You’re not behind the robots?” Jon accused harshly. Damian huffed, “No, you imbecile, of course not. I helped you take them down, if your memory is even working.”

It was Jon’s turn to blow out a breath in annoyance.

“Then why do you wear all this and call yourself Canvas, huh?” Jon gestured to all of Damian’s uniform, “You sure you didn’t just up and decide to be a superhero?”

“I did decide to be a superhero,” Canvas shrugged, “But it was a calculated decision. I was trained to do vile things, so what better way to turn against what I know than to use my training for good?” Batman was inwardly proud of his son.

“Besides, between the two of us, you look like the person who walked out of his house and decided to start obliterating robots. I don’t care if you have superpowers, you need to look the part, too.”

“I do look the part!” Jon snapped, although it was closer to a whine.

Damian was still one moment, and the next his hand blurred as he whipped out a throwing knife from his robe and flung it behind Jon. The blade thunked into the husk of a small robot which had emerged from the streets below, a needle poised towards Jon’s neck.

Jon jerked back from the edge, the robot tumbling out of view. Kon-El was clutching the robot when he touched down on the roof himself, Red Robin grappling up beside him.

“You reacted fast. Good job,” Red Robin nodded at Canvas. Batman could tell the compliment was genuine. Damian could tell too, if the way he straightened as he nodded was anything to go by.

Kon-El was in the midst of scolding his brother while Red Robin plucked the robot from his hands and set to work investigating it. His gaze flickered briefly over to the hidden camera on the roof, but to anyone else, they would only see his blank domino gaze vaguely turn to that direction.

“It’s Lexcorp tech,” Red Robin announced, “Must have been orchestrated by him. I guess it worked, since it got both of you out here.”

The two Supers were too absorbed in their own argument to pay attention to his words.

“You guys never let me out of Metropolis!” Jon was yelling irritably, “I’m thirteen! I should at least be able to do my patrols in the city alone!”

“Going alone is dangerous,” Kon bit back, “What if you got hurt? Or worse?”

Jon scowled. “I can handle myself,” he maintained.

Superman buried his face in his hands. “We need to sit down and have a talk,” Superman mumbled, “We should include Biz as damage control. Jon loves Biz. He’d listen to him.”

Canvas and Red Robin made eye contact for a brief moment. Red Robin’s lips twitched, just slightly. Canvas looked away and crossed his arms. 

His head jerked back towards the conversation at Jon’s next remark.

“Maybe you’re just jealous!” Jon jeered, misplaced anger filling each word, “Am I already doing better than you? Is that what it is? Scared I’ll be a better Superboy than you?” 

Red Robin shifted, but Canvas was faster.

Nevermind that both boys were invincible - they each took a startled step back when Canvas appeared, wielding his modified escrima sticks between them, blades pointed at both of their chests. The blank mask did nothing to conceal the vitriol in his voice.

“You two are _yelling_ your problems,” Canvas hissed, “For the _whole of New York_.” 

“He sounds like you,” Superman mused. Batman was pretending to look at the other screens, but he mentally acknowledged that his son indeed sounded like him, especially with the deepened tone of his mask.

It was during moments like this, when he witnessed his children establishing themselves outside of Gotham, that Batman could truly appreciate how far they had come - how much they had grown.

“You,” Canvas turned to glare at Jon, “Get yourself together, you snob. Throwing insults will get you nowhere.” He pointedly removed his blade from Kon-El’s chest, but kept the other one trained on Jon as he continued speaking.

“Your brother has earned his title, earned it through hard work and effort. You’ll never be a ‘better’ Superboy,” the word was snarled in disgust, “If you keep on with your needless accusations. Hurting the ones who help you will only hurt yourself. Having the same powers can only get you so far.”

“You-“ Jon spluttered, “I don’t even know you! You don’t know anything!”

Canvas snorted. “Perhaps I should get to know you, then, and see if I need to revise my opinions,” he challenged.

“That’s not a bad idea.”

The two boys jerked to face Kon-El, Canvas finally lowering his blade. Jon and Damian were the same age, Batman realised, if one ignored the fact that Damian had been dead for several months. 

“Part of who I am comes from what I learnt while on a team,” Kon-El gestured between himself and Red Robin, gaze trained on Damian, “Canvas, you say you’re a superhero, yeah? I can’t say I’ve heard of you, but you can’t have been doing this for long. The older Titans can offer you training and support, in return for training alongside my brother.”

“I never agreed to this,” Superman mumbled, but he was smiling. Meanwhile, Batman was mildly surprised by this development. It was amusing, that both of their youngest sons were about to form a team.

“I…” Canvas hesitated, casting a subtle glance towards Red Robin. The older boy gave a quiet, fleeting smile. Canvas squared his shoulders and nodded sharply, “Alright. How will this work?”

“First things first,” Red Robin finally stepped into the conversation, “We’ll need to know more than just your chosen superhero name. I understand the discretion that comes with being a solo vigilante, and I promise whatever you tell me will be kept confidential. From there, we’ll work around your commitments and any requests you may have to set up training days.”

Batman made a mental note to commend his two Robins, later on. Tim for his quick thinking, and Damian for his swift yet controlled responses.

Canvas nodded curtly at Red Robin. “Away from prying eyes - and ears, if I’m not wrong,” Canvas glanced at the Supers warily. 

Kon-El placed a hand on Jon’s shoulder with a smile, “Don’t worry, I’ll be taking us back to Metropolis. I’ll make sure he doesn’t eavesdrop.”

After Superman’s kids left the screen, he promptly clicked off. His values prevented him from misusing his powers or resources to overhear Damian’s identity, as always.

He would have to discuss with Damian a full cover story, when he got home. He was hardly surprised his youngest had finally made his debut in the superhero world.

Bruce was looking forward to the end of monitor duty.

**Author's Note:**

> I can just imagine Jon being a spoilt farm boy - I mean, Bizarro and Kon-El AND Superman himself to help Jon manage his powers? He doesn’t understand that being a superhero is more than just wearing a cape and calling himself a fancy name.
> 
> And that’s why Damian’s going to help him learn :))


End file.
